Excluded workers celebrate $2.1 billion fund
ALBANY â Jairo Reyes did not eat for three days. Weak, tired and famished, he remembered his community when he found it difficult to focus. Reyes, of Yonkers, was one of hundreds of New Yorkers to participate in a 23-day statewide hunger strike to raise awareness for funding for thousands of state essential workers excluded from unemployment benefits or stimulus checks for people who lost their jobs during the coronavirus pandemic. The hunger pains, Reyes said, were worth it. The state Legislature included a one-time $2.1 billion Excluded Workers Fund in its final 2021-22 budget, which t...